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Month: October 2016

Election time and about time to get some perspective on issues that are to complex to leave too simplifications. Read Mexican Roots, American Soil: A Quest for the American Dream, by Ernie Bringas. A book about immigration that is intelligent and knowledgeable, by a first generational Mexican American:

“… my first purpose for writing is to help mitigate the prejudicial attitudes that prevail. It is prompted by what I consider to be a direct assault against the Hispanic people, most notably, against Mexicans …”

“I hope my family’s story— fleeing from the battlegrounds of the Mexican Revolution in 1916 to the USA—will help other Americans recognize the positive contributions made by immigrants that have woven their unique threads into the American fabric.That’s one of the great values of immigration. It’s the bloodline that keeps our nation from becoming anemic, and stagnant. From top to bottom, the social, musical, athletic, professional, and intellectual contributions made by the constant flow of immigrants are incalculable.”

“We must be mindful that the benefits of immigration are a two-way street. I will simply say that I am eternally grateful to my family members who had the vision for a better life, and had the tenacity to make that better life possible by crossing the Mexican/American border. I still marvel at their courage and foresight.

On the other hand, I can point with pride to what this country did for me and for our family as a whole. With open arms this nation provided all the opportunities needed for the pursuit of happiness, including education and job opportunities. We, in turn, gave back with service, dedication and loyalty. That will become evident as our story unfolds.”

As usual I have been reading two books simultaneously and compared them. I am wonderfully stuck in Mexican Roots, American Soil: A quest for The American Dream by Ernie Bringas and I just began reading Rita’s World, a View From the Non-Physical, Volume Two by Frank DeMarco.

In Rita’s World, Rita tells Frank:

“Pretty much everything you care about other than the composition of your character and the nurturance of your soul. Politics, ideology, economics, technology, religion, science, — you name it. I suppose I should add, “except in so far as they cause or reflect changes in what and who you are.” In other words, we don’t care about the results of the latest elections, but if you participated in some way, directly or vicariously, we would care about how that experience changed you.

You have to understand, everything is upside down from the way you think of it. The individual is everything, and the abstract mass – be it class or nation or race or anything – is just a shadow. Do you think the Democratic Party means anything in non-3D? if it did, then what of the Czarist Party in Russia, or the populares in ancient Rome, and so forth? But any given soul is of unchallenged worth, because it is real, it is a creation, and it is unique.”

Then from Mexican Roots, I contrast this statement with:

“To be clear here, no rational person is advocating for open boarders; we can’t absorb everyone. Nor can we allow immigrants to enter our country without being vetted. We need a reality-based approach for solving the thorny issues surrounding immigration, including a pathway to citizenship. It will take considerable effort on the part of well-intentioned, well-informed, and well educated compassionate leaders to resolve the issue fairly. But an equitable solution will be impossible if ignorance and ethnic bias rule the day.”

Now I find myself agreeing with both of these statements, but then wondering if they don’t contradict each other. I am not sure if I am tricking myself, or if it is OK to agree with both statements. If politics and ideology don’t matter, then how can immigration be such an important issue?

Earlier in Rita’s World, Rita tells Frank: you love reading history books. When I was alive in a material world body, I used to love watching CNN. Neither activity is in itself important, it is in how they affect us as developing souls that they take on any meaning.

Reflecting on Rita’s words, I know that my personal reaction when I think about Donald Trump wanting to halt all immigration of Muslim peoples, is getting so upset that I lose perspective.

I personally have been to the Latin American celebration of The Day of the Dead in Mexico and in Peru many times. It is not Halloween. Families go to the graveyards and spend the day near the graves of their loved ones who have passed over. They bring the deceased their favorite foods, toys or alcohol, and they hire people to say prayers or play music. I asked one person why this was done and they said: ”We believe the veil between the living and dead is thinnest this time of year and that our loved ones can experience these things once more with us, and through this know we love them and miss them.

I feel it is very enriching to the USA culture to have these traditions brought here and woven into our tapestry of cultures. Yet will that matter after we die? If a person stays in the land of their birth and lives in poverty, or comes to the USA and works hard and lives in wealth, how does that differently effect their eternal soul?

My children and my wife were all born in other countries, and now live well in the USA. The immigration issue is burningly important to me. But is my passion for fair, equitable and human immigration no different than Franks reading history books or Rita watching CNN? When do world issues take on eternal soul enhancing proportions? Are all worldly issues in themselves only as important as any individual feels they are? What kind of worldly issues and what reactions to them affect or expand our souls?

It is October: in North America the month of Halloween, and in South America the month of The Day of the Dead. Is it the time of year that the veil between the land of the dead and the land of the living is said to be the thinnest and easiest to communicate through. I personally believe this to be true, and I plan on spending much of this month asking those who have passed over for insights and guidance on my most meaningful actions around the immigration issue.